U Magazine, Spring 1989

American Academy of Pedi–

atrics; Paul Peterson , San Diego attorney and partner in Peterson,

Thelan a nd Price; Dr. Quynh Kieu , an Orange County pediatrician; Thomas Pa pageorge, director of special opera– tio ns at the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office; Sam Williams, a Los Angeles attor– ney and former state Bar president; Judge Leon Kaplan , acting presiding judge, Los Angeles County Juvenil e Cou rt; and Glo ria Perez Samson, a local junior high school principa l. "Everyone has a place in their heart fo r ch-ildren. But that

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doesn't mean a thing when pol– icy is decided ," Fellmeth ex-

~~

"Everyone has a place in their heart for children. But tbat doesn 't mean a thing when policy is decided, " Fellmeth explains.

)

p lains. "Money, organ ization and contro l of informa– tio n is involved - not sentiment.

"Each week 250,000 children die worldwide ," he says, throwing his arms up in the air. "In six months, mo re chil– dren die mo re painfully than the deaths that occurred during the Ho locaust; o ne month produces more deaths tha n the soldiers we lost in World Wars I, II , Korea and Vietnam. " Sleeves pushed up to his elbows and loosened tie lying forlornly on his wrinkled shirt, Fellme th pounds his desk for emphasis: "We have the resources, the knowledge and the power to relieve chil– dren's suffering. And yet we do no thing. Or act marginally. What is frustrating is that two-thirds of them are dying from

minorities - a re orga nized and repre– sented , usually by those within the group . "But who represents the childre n?" The question lingers in the air as he adds quietly , "This has bothe red me for a long time. " Fellmeth addressed his life long con– ce rn eight years ago when he included funding fo r a Children 's Advocacy Insti– tute in a proposal for the Center for Public Interest Law (CPIL). But w hile the Center itself was funded in 1980 - to serve as a public mo nito r of the regulatory functions of state government - the children's institute went pe nniless. So for most of this decade Fellmeth has scrambled to find financing for his dream. In September of 1988, that dream par– tially came true. The Weingart Foun– dation awarded the Harvard Law School graduate a $409,000, two-year grant to create the California Chil– dren's Advocacy Institute (CalCAI). Fell meth's Institute - run by a small staff and law student interns - now will wage the

Children have few represen–

tatives , health and issues are often when public

so the ir safety neglected policy is decided. "

Fellmeth hopes to make it difficu lt for policymakers to neglect children 's issues in the future. "We w ill be in people's faces con– stantly, " he says, green eyes ablaze. "Through the media, in print, on the ra– dio, through documentaries, we w ill be jamming it in the faces of those who allo– ca te our resources. It should be harder for people to avoid their own judgment if they are confronted with the conse– quences of their cho ices every day. " Fellmeth believes the first step in the battle for childre n's health is to "bu il d on the current assets CPIL has , and go into California regulato1y law, where we have a successful track record. " That successful track record has been bui lt over the nine-year life of the Center and some 20 advocacy projects, ranging from remedies for California's "sunshine " laws to creation of the nation 's second– largest utility ratepayer organization. More recently, the record was enhanced w ith Fellmeth's 1987 appointment by At– torney General John Van de Kamp as

dehydration or diseases easily prevented - hours away from us , while we all conspicuously consume." Leaning forward , his voice in– creasing in intensity, Fellmeth ex– "Every other group in society is organized to rep- resent itself. We 've horizon– talized society. Lawyers have their own interest groups. So do doctors, accountants and hospital administrators. Even non-profit groups - the elderly, plains why his frustration has piqued.

I

battle for the hea lth and safety of Califor– nia's childre n - a

battle Fellmeth hopes to eventually carry into the international arena. He has recruited a board of directors that includes Dr. Birt Harvey, president-

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